Mobile City Council to consider a permanent endorsement on downtown's entertainment districts

Kym Vanover, a customer at The Brickyard bar on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile, Ala., holds up an open cup of chardonnay wine on the sidewalk outside the establishment after the city's designated entertainment districts came into being Wednesday, March 13, 2013. The city's entertainment district ordinance allows patrons to purchase a 16-ounce cup of liquor from a downtown establishment and walk outside with it. They can consume the liquor as long as it's contained within the district's boundaries. (Mike Brantley/mbrantley@al.com)

MOBILE, Alabama – When the "Great Food Truck Race" roared into Mobile this May, one of its producers was approached and asked if it was unusual for the competing food trucks to experience long lines.

Not really, they replied. They've seen large crowds before.

But what was unusual was how "social able" the crowds in downtown Mobile were, recalled Carol Hunter, spokeswoman with the Downtown Mobile Alliance.

The reason?

"Everyone had a beer," Hunter said.

The downtown Mobile scene will continue with the beer-in-hand, festival-like approach if the Mobile City Council approves to permanently establish its two downtown entertainment districts on Tuesday.

The council's vote will eliminate any sunset dates and make the districts – once controversial, now a relatively "non-issue" – a permanent fixture for downtown Mobile.

"It seems to be working well," Hunter said Monday. "It creates a very festive-like atmosphere where you are outside with a beverage."

The districts that the council will vote on feature no changes to the original ordinance approved in early March 2013 with a 6-0 vote.

Under the ordinance, people are allowed to walk on Dauphin with open containers of alcohol as long as the liquor is in a designated 16-ounce "LODA" cup or in a cup provided by a tavern.

Three-block omission remains

The boundaries will still consist of two separate districts that include portions of Dauphin Street encompassing most of the taverns and restaurants along downtown's most vibrant street.

The districts will continue to exclude a three-block area from Cedar to Franklin streets. Only one bar will continue to be omitted – The Haberdasher.

"If anyone wanted to include that, they certainly could've spoken in favor of it," Hunter said. "But no one did."

Councilman Levon Manzie, who represents the downtown area, originally felt that some tweaks were necessary with the boundaries.

He said that the residences within the three-block omission area "were against it" and that there was no reason to pursue a connection.

Manzie said that the council is not trying to punish The Haberdasher. Last year, former Council President Reggie Copeland voted to abstain on establishing the entertainment districts because they omitted The Haberdasher.

"We haven't intentionally set out to pick on anyone," Manzie said. "We are responding to feedback from our constituents ... and trying to put forth the best plan that will work for the city of Mobile."

The ordinance prohibits patrons from legally walking between the two entertainment districts from Franklin to Cedar with open containers of alcohol.

Police, however, has not been enforcing it. No arrests have been made nor has anyone been cited for violations within the district.

So far, so good

That plan is to keep the status quo, but with some permanency.

The original ordinance had a sunset date of March 1, 2014. The council, earlier this year, approved to extend the district's lifespan to Sept. 2, giving the council time to look for ways to make possible changes.

"We believe the entertainment district concept has worked successfully and after having had the council committee meeting and much dialogue and discussion with both residents and businesses in the affected areas, we believe it's the appropriate time to move forward and implement these districts permanently," Manzie said.

Hunter agreed.

"When someone comes in from out-of-town and they are looking for this night sport or a particular kind of music, we explain to them the peculiarity of our private club system," she said. "We tell to them to go with the flow but that the nice thing is that in these areas, you can walk around with a cup or wine or a beer.

She added, "They always think that it is a really cool and interesting aspect of our downtown. It really adds a new twist on the nightlife."